I crossed my arms. “No.”
“I find that hard to believe,” Beck said. “Your face is fucking everywhere, Walker. She works in the restaurant business. How did she not know it was you?”
“I’m not going to get into details about that. She explained how she didn’t know, and I believe her.” I released a long breath. “Why I came to you guys is because I don’t know what the fuck to do. That’s what I want to talk about.”
“You don’t know what to do …” Hart’s head was shaking, and it stilled. “What are you struggling with?”
“Her future with The Weston Group,” I voiced.
“There is no future for her here,” Hart shot back. “You need to write her a big parting check and let her go. You know this goes against the rules of the company.”
“Fuck that. There has to be another option,” I countered.
Hart’s hand went to the table, and he leaned into the edge of it. “You’re telling me you want her to stay employed?”
The conversation I’d had with Alivia last night was too fresh in my mind.
Her words fucking haunting me.
I nodded at Hart. “I’m telling you, she shouldn’t be punished and lose her job for something that neither of us knew about.”
Colson broke several seconds of silence with, “Do you want to be with her?” He was playing with the collar of his light-pink polo shirt.
I uncrossed my arms to wave the air. “That’s irrelevant.”
“No, it’s not, brother.” Colson huffed. “It’s extremely relevant.”
I looked away from him and focused on Eden. “What I want to know is what I’m facing legally. With my signatureacross a nonfraternization policy, how fucked am I right now?”
Our entire executive team had signed one. From a corporate standpoint, we didn’t want there to be any issues with hierarchy or balances of power. And even though my sister wasn’t an attorney, she was well versed on these kinds of things.
“This is a gray area,” she began. “There was no way you could have known she was an employee of The Weston Group when things happened between you two. In a sense, that’s somewhat grandfathered you in—that is, if things ever progress forward. However, she has free rein to discuss things with her coworkers, and I can’t predict what kind of storm that would start.”
“A legal storm, you mean?” I clarified.
“Not legally.” She was holding a pen and tapped it on the table. “I just mean, our employees would love to catch a whiff of drama that’s this spicy, especially considering it involves one of their bosses.”
I nodded.
“She can sign an NDA,” Colson offered.
“That might not be a bad idea,” Eden added. “It protects you. It protects us.”
Something she’d already offered to do, but I didn’t tell them that.
“Is she working tonight?” Hart asked. When my face told him she was, he continued, “Dude, she’s going to blast that shit all over the fucking restaurant.”
“Jesus Christ,” Beck moaned. “Walker, you don’t want that.”
“I don’t think she will …” I put my hands behind my head. “I don’t think she’s like that.”
“You don’t even fucking know her,” Hart said. “How the hell can you say that?”
My eyes narrowed in on him. My fingers were twitchy, and it wasn’t the booze that made me want to throw something. “It’s a feeling I have.”
Hart smirked. “Did you have that same feeling before you drank your breakfast?”
“What the fuck are you trying to say?” I sat up straight, my shoulders automatically going back.
